rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryconglomerateDiverse corporate group
noun / adjective / verb

conglomerate

kun-GLAH-muh-rut/kənˈɡlɑːmərət/

A whole formed from assorted distinct components.

The conglomerate includes grocery, manufacturing, media, and transport businesses.

Corporate organization with central headquarters connected to distinct grocery factory media and transport businesses, simple clear diagram without labels.
Etymology
conLatintogether
+glomerateLatingather into a ball, collect

Gathering together into a ball became an image for combining unlike materials into one whole. The business sense applies that image to different companies united in one corporation.

In context

CNBC Make It9:24
VF Corp., a fashion conglomerate that owns brands like The North Face and Vans.
How Hip-Hop Made Timberland a Billion Dollar Brand

More examples

  • The conglomerate owns a newspaper, a hotel chain, and several factories.
  • Rounded pebbles are cemented together in this conglomerate rock.
  • Over time, smaller firms conglomerate into a single large organization.

Forms

conglomerate · conglomerates · conglomerated · conglomerating

conglomeration noun — A collection of varied things gathered together.

Similar words

aggregate
Emphasizes collected elements rather than their variety or differences.
composite
Emphasizes parts forming one structure, often a manufactured material.